Tarot Cards
by Aspect1
Summary: A collection of oneshots based on the various meanings of tarot cards. Each oneshot features different characters as their main focus. First one: Reversed Death.


**A/N: This ideas keep coming to me in waves! In any case, this will be a collection of oneshots as stated in the summary featuring different characters. They will follow the meaning of tarot cards and there will be either 44 chapters or 156 chapters, depending on whether I want to write something long or longer. They _will_ include the reversed meanings as well. This will probably be updated at random since my other KnB fic, 'Love Song' takes precedence.**

**Also, all tarot cards meaning are taken from paranormality . com.**

**This oneshot: Reversed Death. I felt like this oneshot went from good-bad-worse. And then it became a colossal wreck somewhere. **

**Warnings: Angst, hinted sexual themes (if you squint, I guess), very, very depressing, possible grammatical errors and some possible incoherence somewhere at the end of the first part and elsewhere.**

**Rating: T, borderline M.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.**

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_Reversed Death- Change that is both painful and unpleasant. A refusal to face the fear of change or change itself. Agonising periods of transition. Inertia. Lethargy. Mental, physical or emotional exhaustion._

* * *

_Ten years gone with no end in sight, and the wounds are still raw._

**_Momoi _**l **_Aomine_** l **_Kise_** l **_Midorima_** l **_Murasakibara_** l _**Akashi **__**  
**_

**_Kuroko_**

_The center of their universe, gone._

A gentle breeze blows and it tousles dark blue hair. Papers rustle and one slips from the loose grip of fingers and flies into the air. A tan arm reaches up and grabs it easily. Aomine brings it back down and studies it for a moment. He closes his eyes, as if the sight of it is too agonizing to bear, then open it again. This time, he reads the entire thing. It was Kuroko's application to a daycare.

Aomine shoves it to the bottom of the stack of papers he is holding and then turn to face the fire department. Someone steps out from it. The person turns to face another person and the two exchange quiet words. All the while, Aomine watches on. Finally, the duo turn and head towards him, Kagami and Himuro.

"Aomine." Kagami sounds surprised.

"Yo," the greeted greets. He glances at Himuro. "Hey."

"Hello," Himuro answers and then his eyes dart between his 'younger brother' and the policeman.

Kagami swallows and fidgets. Since when has things gotten so awkward between him and Aomine? He has a feeling he knows. No, scrape that. He _does_ know. But he doesn't want to admit it. To admit it was equivalent to betraying his Light.

Himuro, seeing as neither of them desired to break the silence, decides to try to ease some of the tension.

"We're going to Majiba to eat. Do you want to come?" he offers. He regrets it an instant later when he sees how Aomine's face twists. That lack of tact on his side is unforgivable.

"No, it's all right. See you." Aomine replies curtly then turns to walk off.

"I'll call you," Kagami calls after him, wincing at how pathetic he sounds.

Himuro waits till Aomine is out of earshot before turning to the redhead beside him.

"Let's go to my apartment instead. I'll cook. You need a good meal anyways." Himuro pauses. "You've been eating at Majiba everyday with Aomine, haven't you?"

"Yeah." Kagami does not need to add that it's the only place he and Aomine feels comfortable at with each other. Majiba is where there's too many people for them to really reveal themselves to each other. Majiba, to them, is a curtain. It acts as a veil to how they use each other.

Himuro already knows and understands that. That the only reason why Aomine is in front of the fire department every sunset is because he does it out of obligation- obligation to keep up the act that he and Kagami are dating.

"Daiki."

"Akashi."

The two stare at each other for a few seconds until Akashi holds out his hand and Aomine shifts his gaze down to it. Another second passes and then, Aomine takes it. Akashi curls his pale fingers around the hand of the darker man. The touch is gentle and yet, at the same time, held a certain forcefulness to it.

"Shintaro's clinic is down this way." _let us go there_. And Aomine agrees with only a nod.

As they walk down the empty road, they do not speak. They still hold hands but it holds as much meaning as dust to them. Aomine tilts his head up towards the orange sky. The setting sun is like a large egg yolk settling behind buildings and people. Slight grey clouds drift lazily across the sky, pushed on by a near unnoticeable breeze.

_"Aomine-kun, I have always liked sunsets."_

_"Really?" _

_"...only with you."_

Aomine blinks back sudden tears springing forth. He brings up his free hand and rubs them away and when his hand drops, he comes face to face with electric crimson and gold eyes.

"We're here. I will be going inside to see Shintaro for awhile." Akashi's tone holds an unexpected (or is it really? Aomine wonders) note of affection for the doctor.

Aomine watches his once captain walk into the now closed clinic with Midorima. The door shuts with a heavy 'thud'. Outside, Takao watches their figures fade away into the darkness. A resigned sigh escapes his lips and he walks to Aomine's side.

Aomine stuffs his hands into his pockets and lean on the tree beside him, all the while staring up at the sky. For a while, it is silence but Takao breaks it.

"Is it always this painful?" Aomine has never heard a cry more plaintive than that. Yet, it holds acceptance. It saddens the police officer that this is what everything has come to. But it is not in Aomine to really feel sad for anyone. Definitely not the way he is right now.

"How was it like before?" Aomine asks even as he wonders if any of them really remembers ten years ago. His sole answer tinge with bitterness is, 'Yes, of course they do.'

"Fun, happy. I...we...were contented." Takao bites his lips and averts his teal-coloured eyes from Aomine's dark blue ones. A single tear rolls down his left cheek which is hastily brushed away. "Is it bad to long for those days again?"

_Those days, huh_, Aomine thinks to himself. He thinks of Kuroko, his once shadow, and the rare smiles he would often gift onto his ex-partner. He thinks of how Kuroko once stuck an ice-cold popsicle into his uniform. He thinks of the first time he and Kuroko kissed. And how the latter smiled afterwards.

"It isn't," Aomine decides. Those days were, after all, much better than the current life they lived.

Akashi and Midorima comes out then, effectively cutting off any further conversation. The two look the same as they went in but to Aomine's trained eye, he spots the slightest tousle of Akashi's red hair. As for Takao, the slight redness of Midorima's lips that look as if they have been ravaged so desperately is clue enough.

"Takao, let's go," Midorima orders.

"I'll see you again, Shintaro. Thank you for what you have given me," Akashi says then turns to Aomine.

Aomine cannot help but ponder upon what Midorima has given him. He has a feeling he already knows however.

"Daiki, let's go."

Aomine nods then turns to Midorima and Takao. "See ya." that goodbye felt forced even to him.

The duos separate and Aomine and Akashi turn right. Akashi's face is devoid of expression and even the air around him seems a little more tempered than usual. None of them bothers to talk until they reach the apartment Aomine is living in.

Aomine turns around to face Akashi, door to his apartment half-opened, showing how white and seemingly clean his apartment is. ...and also how empty it is.

"I'll be staying the night," Akashi announces and Aomine has no choice but to let him in. Even after all this years, Akashi's domineering side still prevailed above all else.

After a quiet dinner, Aomine lends Akashi some of his clothes that are too big for the smaller male. Akashi does not comment and goes to shower. Aomine plops in front of the television and switches it on. His default channel, in a sense, is the news channel and it is that that he watches.

_"Aomine-kun, do you think you can learn how to make that kind of vanilla milkshake?" Kuroko asked his partner, referring to the cooking show they were currently watching._

_"Har? Do you really think I can do it?" _

_"Please?" Kuroko wheedled, eyes unusually bright._

_Aomine stared at those azure blue pools and grumbled under his breath but finally, agreed with a grunt. That pleading look and tone was just too much for him to handle._

_Kuroko smiled at him and interlocked their fingers. _

_"Thank you," he murmured softly, cheeks now a little red for suddenly being so...out-of-character._

After Kuroko vanished from them so suddenly and so shockingly, Aomine no longer feels like watching any other channel. Cooking channels, movie channels, reality television shows, they became worthless, a mere waste of his time without his beloved one by his side. He only watches the news out of duty. He has a requirement to know all the ongoing news lest something broke out during his shift.

"Daiki," Akashi calls once he steps out of the bathroom, white towel on his head. "You can shower now."

"All right," Aomine replies, switching off the television and tossing the remote onto the mustard yellow couch.

Akashi watches him head into his room and then into the bathroom, this time with clothes. The redhead walks to the lone sofa and then looks around. Aomine's apartment can be considered small, with only one bathroom and bedroom. The kitchen is joined to the living room and that was it. It is only big because of the sparseness of the living room and the fact that Aomine lives alone.

Aomine's phone 'pings' all of a sudden, breaking the tranquility that has settled. Akashi glances at the black phone resting on the kitchen's countertop and walks over to it. He picks it up, unlocks it, and reads the message. He is well aware that he is interfering with Aomine's privacy but at this juncture, everyone is invading everyone's privacy with the exception of Kise and Momoi.

**From: Kagami**

**Subject: Tomorrow**

**Hey, wanna meet up tomorrow? None of what we're doing but just to...talk.**

To talk. Words that invoke nightmares in paranoid people. But 'to talk' for the Generation of Miracles (sans Kise) and the others deeply affected by what happened to Kuroko means another world. To genuinely talk is now a hard thing for them. Not when they were all using each other to get rid of their pain and agony.

Akashi locks the phone and places it back in its exact position on the countertop.

"Akashi." from behind him, Aomine sounds oddly strained.

"Weren't you showering?" Akashi asks instead, back still to him.

"I forgot something." Aomine walks forward, snatches the phone and then stalks back into the bathroom.

Akashi's lips lift into a soulless smile. Is there really any point in protecting one's privacy when everyone already knew what is going on? Akashi understood though. The need to hide something, even if it is already known. After all, is he not the same? Hiding what he has with Midorima, deceiving himself to perceive that it is unknown? Akashi sees everything, such is his curse. And yet, despite seeing everything around him, how could he not have seen what would happen to Kuroko? His beloved Tetsu? How could he not have seen that car accident?!

He balls his hands into fists then relaxes them, and balls them up, and relaxes them. He does the same thing for at least five minutes, focusing only on controlling his anger, his hatred- all directed at himself. It takes all his will to not just grab something random, preferably sharp, and hurl it at an innocent soul. Whatever he does now, cannot, and will never, change the past.

Kuroko Tetsuya is gone forever from the world of the living. And that is the unchangeable truth.

* * *

Momoi wakes in the middle of night gasping for breath. In an instant, Kise is up at well and bringing his wife close to him. He wraps his arms around her and rests his chin on top of her head. All the while, he strokes her hair and murmurs words meant to comfort.

Momoi hiccups and sobs into his chest. She clings onto his grey shirt and wets it with her tears. A cry of anguish rips from her throat and more tears spill. Kise knows that he cannot assuage this sudden onslaught of grief and that the only thing he can do is to be there for her, to remind her that she _has_ someone.

It comes at random times of the day, most often during the night. Outside, she dares not show any breakdowns.

"Ryo-kun," Momoi whispers.

"Yes?" he answers softly.

"I...I..." she trails off, unable to find the right words to express herself.

Kise smiles, albeit sadly.

"I understand. You don't have to worry."

Ten years are more than enough to allow him to understand what Momoi means with all her gestures and actions. Ten years however, are just right for him realize how much he treasures the girl he is currently holding in his arms. It was gradual but day by day, he began to understand himself and her more. He began to understand the aspects of their relationships- the things that would always keep them apart, the things that would always bind them, the things only they could understand and most of all, that unlike the others, they were together out of love.

Momoi slowly nods and parts herself away from her husband. Kise's arms suddenly feel empty and he has the sudden urge to hug her again. They lie back down on the bed and Kise wraps one arm around her. Momoi snuggles in a little further for warmth.

"Will Mukkun come tomorrow?" she asks faintly. Tomorrow is Kuroko's death anniversary.

"I had a text from Kagamicchi just now who said that Himuro told him that Murasakibaracchi won't be coming."

Momoi closes her eyes. "It feels like Mukkun has been distancing himself from us."

"He's only been keeping in contact with Akashicchi and that's only because Akashicchi demands it." Kise's voice cracks a little in the middle. His grip tightens on Momoi. "I didn't want this to happen but...what can I do?"

"There's nothing we can do, Ryo-kun. Not when the two of us can't even save ourselves alone."

"Precisely!" Kise bursts out. "We should be together!"

"But everything we have worked so hard to build will collapse." Momoi's voice breaks at the end and more teardrops roll down her cheeks.

"We're just too afraid."

To think that just a single death could break them all so much. The shadow of the Generation of Miracles and Seirin. The shadow of them all, the core of them all. The one holding them together. Really, it was quite expected that his death would affect them but to this extent... It really felt as if Kuroko had been taken for granted.

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**A/N: The ending. I'm horribad at endings /sadface. Anyways, review, favourite or follow? :V**


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